Expectations
by Bleachigo15
Summary: "You always have expectations for me," Law says, "everyone has expectations of somebody." Luffy lowers his eyes, "Law, I don't understand what you're saying." The older gives him a twisted, rueful smile. "Nobody does."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this pooped into my head after many things happened. Might be a couple of chapters, maybe three. Warnings: Angst.**

 _Synopsis_ : "You always have expectations for me," Law says, "everyone has expectations of somebody." Luffy lowers his eyes, "Law, I don't understand what you're saying." The older gives him a twisted, rueful smile. "Nobody does."

1

– _Expectations_ –

"I don't know what you see in me."

"Eh?"

Luffy looks up at him, mouth slightly tugged downwards. "What're you talking about? I see plenty of things in you."

Law sighs and doesn't look at him, staring at the ceiling, thumb absentmindedly stroking Luffy's cold arm. The two cuddled under warm covers, protected from the snow outside, slowly spiraling from the dark sky above. The fireplace before them cackled with flickering, wavering flames, casting heat and shadows upon their faces. The small, wooden cottage they shared was dim, lit only that seemingly living light, and Luffy.

Luffy shifts in Law's arms, so he lays on his stomach next to him, and leans over his face. Law's eyes refused to look at him, though his boyfriend was a few mere inches above him, and Luffy sighs disappointedly. "Law, talk to me," he says softly, as if testing the waters between them, sensing, knowing, that something has changed in his lover. But Law shakes his head, and shifts his gaze to the side of the wall. Luffy pouts, lowering those eyelashes of his, and the action catches Law's eyes just barely, and it's no more than a few seconds that Law speaks again, because he was a sucker for that pout of his. He'd usually kiss the expression right off Luffy's young face, that gorgeous, beautiful face.

Law didn't even feel worthy to look at Luffy right now.

"You always have expectations for me," Law begins, "everyone has expectations of somebody." Luffy lowers his eyes, "Law, I don't understand what you're saying." The older gives him a twisted, rueful smile. "Nobody does."

The man turns away from the younger, shrugging deeper into the large, fluffy blanket they shared. Luffy reaches out and touches Law's shoulder. "Open up to me, please. What happened?"

"Go to sleep, Luffy," Law whispers.

He feels the teen behind him still for a moment, and Law knows he's regarding him, wavering between being compliant and disobeying him. But Luffy decides to give him space, zipping his lips, and slipping back under the covers. With timid arms, he feels around Law's waist with his fingers, until they reach his front, tracing the tense muscles that resided there, and slowly messaged them until they loosened. Luffy continued this for what seemed like hours, and Law unraveled under his innocent touch. It wasn't until the early morning that the two dozed off, Luffy's arm thrown over Law's middle, legs entangled, his cheek flush against Law's shaking, rising and falling back.

—

Law gets out of bed, and it's expected. He smiles, because it's expected, and he's happy, because it's expected. Anything else out of the ordinary would be considered 'out-of-character' for him, and people would crowd around him, asking him what's wrong. Like, no, he's fine, he's just usually this way, or he's just having one of those days. But it's not what people expect, and if it's out of the ordinary for them, then it should be out of the ordinary for you, too. Law grew up with this kind of mentality, and it's stuck with him, he can't shake it off, but he can minimize it. He's minimized it with Luffy, ever since the day they first met, up until now, years upon years later. They've grown so close, so intimate, and the trust they had in each other was overflowing, abundant to a point where others would deem the pairing ridiculous. But that was just the two of them, and their own little world.

Luffy had laid out himself out for Law, everything, and Law had done likewise.

Or, rather, that was what Luffy expected.

Everyone has a part of them they would rather keep hidden. No matter how bright the smile, there's always shadows. Its just finding that person to find and acknowledge those shadows, to accept them, and to lessen the depth or eradicate them, that takes time and effort and pain and love. Law went through all of that with Luffy, and more, so much more. They had exposed themselves, making themselves bare before each other, physically, mentally, emotionally, physiologically. So many memories together, both good and bad, but they lived through it, being next to each other. Law knew Luffy like the back of his hand, his hidden depths that the teen only showed to him. And, no, that's not saying Luffy didn't know Law. If he said that he'd be lying, and the both of them would know it. There were depths he didn't know, he had within the recesses of his heart. It was hard to keep things hidden. What Law really wanted to say was that he wasn't acceptable.

If someone didn't get it, then Luffy couldn't, either.

With toes as light as feathers, he tiptoes across the cold, wooden floor, bristling quietly at the needles which pricked his skin. He walks towards the fireplace, and sits in front of it, staring at the smoldering flame, dying down from its once majestic dance. Shifting and swirling, flickering and crackling, bending and rolling, brightening and dimming, and even taking a bow after its flamboyant display. But that was then, and this was now, and the flames aren't even there anymore, the place just barely illuminated with red and orange, a low hum against the burnt wood.

Law narrows his eyes. Much like him.

"Hey," says Luffy from behind him, wrapping his arms around Law's neck and kissing his cheek. With love glowing in his eyes, he murmurs, "G' Mornin."

Law hums in response, not turning to look at him. Luffy pulls back and pauses, and Law noticing that he's doing a lot of that. Something's changing between them. And it's mostly Law's fault.

"Wanna go out? And...do something?" Luffy asks cheerfully, but it's off the norm, a weird tone in his voice, but Law finds the word 'yes' slip from his lips regardless, and Luffy's there smiling.

A yes was expected.

But Law wanted to agree, so the thought was swiftly dismissed.

"Yeah," Law says a bit louder, realizing his previous word was half muttered. "That would be great. Shower, first, and, uh. Food."

Luffy gives his neck a half hug, half suffocating squeeze, and Law leans into it, sighing. Then he leaves, whispering he'll go first, he'll be right back, and disappears into the shower. Law's left alone, eyes following Luffy until the door closes between him and the teen, and the simple action makes Law realizes what Luffy might do in the future.

Close the door on Law.

And Law hadn't been expecting that.

The mere thought of Luffy leaving him sent him reeling, and he's off the floor, barging through the door, and ignoring Luffy's squeal as he rips the shower curtain open, and stares with wide eyes at the shivering teen amidst the steam. After a heart stopping moment of staring, Luffy releases the breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Um. Did you need something?"

Law's breath comes in ragged, short bursts, and his eyes runs over Luffy's body, dark eyes flying over his muscled body, a body he knew and explored every inch of. It was familiar, Luffy before him like this, and it was normal to Law, and, to an extend, it was expected.

It wasn't for Luffy.

"Law?" Luffy says tentatively, curled in on himself as best he could while standing, and it's a cute little "eep" he gives when Law starts undressing, too. Law needed to refresh his mind, maybe it's to clear away the doubt. It's hot and steamy and warm and wet, yet Luffy's there shivering against his front. "You're shivering," Law whispers in his ear, barely heard over the water's rush.

Luffy looks over his shoulder, up at Law's face, studying his expression. It's a wall, a brick wall, and he can't penetrate like he used to. It's changed. It's not expected.

His next actions are justified.

"What's wrong?" Luffy breathes, turning, holding Law around the waist, his head in his inked, muscled, tense chest. "Your face."

Law blinks at him, face flushed from the water, from the steam. "What about my face?"

"It's closed," Luffy frowns, reaching up and cupping his chin, rough stubble greeting his soft palm. Law leans into the touch, looking at Luffy with lidded eyes, and the younger sucks in a shaky breath.

"Let's go," Law says softly.

"Yeah."

The shower is forgotten.

—

Donned in a red coat, skinny jeans, and a wide smile, Luffy bites happily into a bagel, winking at Law, who cringes at the food. "Luffy, why the hell?" he hisses, glaring daggers at the offending food. "Literally what the fuck." Law's in a black and yellow hoodie, and skinny jeans that does wonders for his ass.

The teen swallows, laughing, and Law arches an eyebrow. The two sit within a nearby restaurant, sharing a table near a window, watching the snow fly by outside. It's a comfy little place, run by a family of three, a foster mother, an older daughter, and a younger daughter. The older, whose age lies in the early twenties at the most, serves alongside her younger sister, who couldn't be a day over twenty. They serve as waitresses, while their mother takes care of the finances and the food making. A perfect little chain of command, organized in an orderly fashion, where business gets taken care of. There aren't many customers besides themselves, and quiet elevator music plays throughout the room. It's not big, with long windows on each side, each accompanied with a circular table and a vintage looking bench, and a wide counter for ordering. Law loves its seclusiveness, and Luffy loves its food, so it's a win-win.

Purple hair peeks out from under the red bandana the eldest wore, her blue eyes reflecting interest as she takes in the couple. "Aren't you guys pretty?" she comments, taking in Luffy's dirtied face and Law's annoyance. "Anything else you need?"

Law narrows his dark eyes at Luffy, who's own twinkle mischievously. "Can we have twenty more?" he asks politely, avoiding Law's dangerous glower.

Nojiko suppresses a chuckle and pulls out a notepad and pen, jotting down the excessive order before smiling sweetly. "Comin' right up," she says, walking away with a whistled tune on her lips.

Nami joins her on her route to the kitchen, tapping her shoulder with small hands. "Don't you think they're cute? Look at how they fight over food."

The older smiles at her sister. "I'm sure Bell-mére would love meeting them, but she's so busy in the kitchen."

The orange haired sighs, but it's a lively type. Her sibling places the slip of paper on the counter to the kitchen, where their mother grunts in recognition. "They're an odd pair, though," she notes, straightening her red bandana, and handles the hot plate of food gingerly. The mother was a feisty, hustler of a woman, one who gets her work done quickly and efficiently, and who knows what the daughters would do with her gone.

"Right?" Nami giggles.

The purple haired returns to their table, placing the food in the table with a flourish and a little bow. Luffy's digging in before she even sets it down. Her eyes sparkle at the enthusiasm, smile widening. "Glad you like."

Law sighs, scratching his hair irritably. "How much is the tab?"

"I'll bring it to you."

As she leaves, Law turns back to his boyfriend. "You're going to pay."

"No I'm not," Luffy says with a devilish smile, and pouts at Law's hardened glare. Then Law relents. That pout. He finds himself leaning forwards, but he catches himself, and stops. Luffy eyes him, something different lies in those eyes. Was that...not what he expected?

Law was having an okay time until.

"Hey, we should start on our way," Law says instead. Coughing lightly into his arm, he nods towards the door, and Luffy puts down the bagel he was eating, and the the hell, because he never not finishes food. Any food. He always eats, even if he's not hungry, so now there's no excuse.

He stands, leaving a few bills on the table, and Luffy does the same, minus the money. With a grunt to the orange haired one as he stalks past, the two make their exit, leaving the sisters staring after them, curiosity on their faces.

—

The ring is cold, extremely cold at that, yet there's laughter in the air and in Luffy's smile. The local park had an annual skating event, called The Summit's Fall, and it's large with official looking people and professional skates, because the prize was, what, a thousand or so dollars? Law didn't know, Law didn't care, because the only thing that was there was Luffy, and no one else mattered. At least a hundred or so skaters circled around the round ring, some talking their time, some gliding along effortlessly, some in groups of three or four, and some skating alone.

Cold winds bite into Law's skin as he flies over the frozen ground, thick flakes flying into his pants, lowering the temperature of his lower body, and Luffy follows slowly on wobbly legs. Law's always been the better skater, and Luffy's always been jealous, but hey, at least he's getting somewhere this time. The last time they went skating, during the regular season, Luffy ended up flat on his ass more times than Law could count. He wasn't supposed to make fun of him, but the look of surprise on his face just as he realized gravity wasn't on his side— Law couldn't not laugh.

"What's with that look on your face?" Luffy asks, accusation laced into his voice. Law coughs lightly and glances away. "Nothing, nothing I swear." It's not exactly a lie.

Luffy puffs out his reddened cheeks, "Liar," he mutters, a cold puff of air escaping his lips. Law watches amusedly as Luffy concentrates on the ice below, arms out and steadying, feet shoulder width apart, and moving an slow inch at a time. The older glides around his lover elegantly, smoothly enough to make Luffy glare weakly at him. A low chuckle escapes him as he gently grabs Luffy hips, guiding him forwards. Luffy stills at the contact, looking backwards, face heated. "What are you doing?"

Chilly air pokes their faces thoughtfully as they glide past, a slow, smooth caress, then a sharp slap. Like reality. "Helping you," Law replies simply, smiling at how wide the younger's eyes grew. "Hey, hey, relax."

"I'm gonna crash. I'm gonna fall and die," Luffy says, his demise dawning on his face in a wrinkle of the nose and the owlish blink of the eyes.

Law rolls his dark orbs. "Like I'm gonna let that happen to you."

They reached the summit.

Luffy throws one of his infamous pouts over his shoulder, and fuck if the world don't stop for Law right then. He loved them, almost as much as he loved his smile or the way he walks when he's tired, and it warms the depths of his being for some reason, and yeah. It's pretty weird that the both of them didn't expect what happened next. It's an obvious, obvious situation, the temperature ideal, the setting ideal, the timing ideal. These moments with Luffy was what made Law realize that he's come a long way. A long way from the time when he didn't expect anything much out of life, and life didn't expect much out of him, either.

So, naturally, when Law first met Luffy, he didn't expect much out of him. Law then, of course, expected the feeling to be mutual.

What he hadn't expected was a bubbly, laughing, energetic teen, who wouldn't stop stuffing his face on a twenty-four hour basis. Luffy helped him with his expectations mentally, and Law helped him out of his obscene round-the-clock hunger. Somewhat. They relied on each other for small things, big things, and they just fit. It was a perfect harmony between the two, a weird, unique kind, and Law loved it.

But he was falling back into that mentality again, and he hated it. He hate, hate, hated it.

Luffy saved him, at least from death, and now he was dying all over again. Noting changed. What changed?

"Law, you have that face on again."

"Sorry."

Luffy leaves his warm, safe arms, skating ahead a few breathless moments, and pride swells in Law. Luffy looks much more in control, much more stable and focused, and a smile stretches his lips. Yet when the younger faces him, Law's met with his eyes. Dark, mysterious, worried. "Law, tell me please, what happening. I want to help, and you're not telling me anything."

Law smiles, a queer, forced expression, and Luffy's distracted, very much so, because holy shit that was disturbing. And then. He falls.

It begins in slow motion, with a skate twisting awkwardly from beneath him, and a second after Luffy looks down in shock he's falling, and at such a sharp angle. A strangled sound escapes his throat, and onlookers looking upon the scene on shock, some holding their children near, some grimacing slightly, a cringe for Luffy, some staring openly, mouth agape. But of course, no one comes to help. Law hadn't expected much out of them since the moment he stepped into the ring.

But he expected much of himself, for Luffy's sake.

So when he reached out to help the younger, for only for the the tips of their fingers to touch was inexcusable. For Luffy to continue his descent was unreasonable. For the sickening thud that followed, for the scream of the crowd and the muffled scream of Law, and for the millions of billions of self-degrading thoughts rolling through his head to occur were all unacceptable. For the red blood to slowly trickle from under his lover, and a flash of the good times, of Nojiko's bandana, to flit through his head was especially horrid, considering the pain written across Luffy's contorted face. This shouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have happened if Law wasn't being such a selfish, worrisome little shit, if he had just opened up to Luffy. It wouldn't have. Couldn't have.

Well, that's what you'd expect, right?

It's weird how events like this seem to be justified if someone had just changed a course of action, but not one tends to think about fate. Life's all about expectations, but not everyone doesn't fucking know that, and they're given the false implication that they're free to do whatever they like. Law thought that. He's thought that, because Luffy had changed him. The blood on the ground reverted him so fast, that if he wasn't so terrified, so broken, so unstable, that he'd laugh. He'd laugh until his sides hurt, because he was trapped in this hellhole of a box called life, slapping him senseless. And if he didn't know better, he'd think that Luffy was doing the slapping. He wasn't sure if that was good or not.

Law barely recognized the paramedic that was suddenly there, asking gently his name, his relation to the patient, and, "Sir, are you alright?" echoed around him more times than he'd like or care to hear.

The Summit's Fall Festival was over, over before it even began, and Law hadn't even took notice of it until then. It fit, the whole thing, and the older stares into space with the biggest smile of regret. They've fallen long, long ago, he just didn't know it. Here was their summit. Here was their fall. Law wishes he had realized sooner, realized this fact with others, without hurting others. He had found love, and he had fucked it up, all because of his stupidity.

"I'm his boyfriend," he's able to make out with a constricted throat, and the officials from above him nod to each other, and after some witness reports, and other confirmations, conclude he's telling the truth. Law's dark eyes squint at the bright lights and loud sounds, and sirens blasting in his ears. And fuck all of this. He needs a break, he needs Luffy by his side, curled up to him under bed, muttering nonsensical words into his chest, sleepliy kissing the tanned, inked skin, and Law would bury his fingers into his soft hair, "I love you"s in every kiss he'd plant on the younger's hair. They would lay under warm covers, with the snow outside spiraling down from the dark sky above, like Law's eyes, crying tears of cold, icy snow. He'd let his guard down too much. He was getting used to not having expectations from everyone. Luffy had taken that away from him, and he had been grateful, he swears. He is grateful. He hated thinking like that, but it wasn't something you could exactly shake off by sheer willpower.

Law's ushered into a helicopter, and it's noise, noise, noise. The whirring of the blades above leave Law with jitters, and guilt renders his ability to speak useless. He's not comprehending the words he's told, something about Luffy's current state, and as much as he wants to hear, he can't. All he's heard was static- white, deafening static, and it's messing with his brain. He's sure seeing Luffy would help, he's sure, so much so that he asks where Luffy is, and the man stares at him. "I just told you," he says, and Law tries his damned best to hear.

"He's currently in the ICU, prepping for emergency surgery," the man explains slowly, hopefully clearly enough for Law to get it, to understand. Law swallows deep, and his hands get clammy. A ball of dread settles in his stomach, but he asks yet another question. "Why is he there?" His voice comes out timid, almost a whisper beside the noise around them. He hears Law, though, and answers. "He has a Proximal Humerus Fracture. Basically, his shoulder," he says, gesturing to his upper arm. "Has a very large fracture. It's not a dire situation, but we have to be extremely careful."

Law nods his understanding, hoping his distress, guilt, and worry doesn't show on his face. If it does, the official beside him doesn't say a word, but simply pats him on the knee. He didn't know how the hell that was supposed to help, and he didn't know whether or not the guy expected him to, what, push through the pain and stay strong, or some other heroic shit. It doesn't help. It's a useless motion.

"Okay," he whispers.

It's a long flight, or that's what Law thinks, and seemingly days later, they finally touch sweet, dry ground. Or, as ground as they can get, seeing that it's atop a roof of a building ten stories high. But, that's the least of Law's problems, because he's rushed around as if extra luggage out of the helicopter. The building is white, with a pungent smell of disinfectant in the air, and nurses and doctors and surgeons and staff bustle about to and fro, and the fact that they all seem to stare at him in sympathy lodges regret in his throat.

Everyone expects for someone to emerge whole when they're admitted to a hospital.

Well, whole as in healthy. Healthy as in safe. Safe as in living. Living as in not dead, dying or sick. Between these, one has expected at least one, and it's obvious because that's what hospitals proclaim to do. Help you. So why was one supposed to expect otherwise? It didn't make logical sense, and neither did Law's thinking. He knew Luffy was going to be okay, he knew, this was Luffy, nothing bad could happen to him. He didn't expect it, because all of his expectations went to hell, so he knew. He firmly believed.

He's almost hilariously wrong when the doctor opens the door for him. Since when did good things ever happen to bad people?

 **I hope you liked the first chapter! Maybe? Somewhat? No? Hmu with reviews, favs, follows, etc., etc. See you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another angsty chapter. How fun.**

 _Synopsis: "You always have expectations for me," Law says, "everyone has expectations of somebody." Luffy lowers his eyes, "Law, I don't understand what you're saying." The older gives him a twisted, rueful smile. "Nobody does."_

2

– Expectations –

Law didn't know whether or not to scream.

His lover sat upon a stretcher, donned in a hospital gown, with his shoulder exposed and being prepped for surgery. The formerly rounded area had turned into a painful, bountiful swell of blue and black, the limb attached coming out at an awkward obtuse angle.

Through the swarm of bodies of nurses, Law spots Luffy's face, dried tears painting lines of salt on his pale skin. Luffy grimaces, biting his lip to keep from screaming. He was holding in the pain, keeping the doctors from fussing too much, keeping the nurses from checking too often. Then Luffy finds Law, and, coughing once, flashes him a large, weak smile.

Did Luffy expect him to smile back, as if everything was okay? Smiles were meant for happy situations, for positivity and reassurances. There was...there was nothing positive, nothing happy about this situation. There was nothing to celebrate, and how dare Luffy try to deceive him into thinking positively, into thinking everything was going to be okay, because it wasn't.

Not without him by Law's side.

He was in pain, and Law couldn't take it away. He was useless, unworthy, a filthy rag that Luffy needed to throw away.

"Law, I—" he begins, but a nurse hushed him with an oxygen mask. At the same time, a doctor ushered him out, no more an a few seconds after he stepped in. The professionals were about to start the surgery, and outsiders weren't allowed.

His accompaniment from the helicopter had looked at him, a want to comfort deep in those sorrowful eyes. But Shachi doesn't, and Law's opinion bordered on not caring anymore. What, did these people think a few words would cheer him up? Hell no. Only Luffy could pull him up, could put him back on his feet.

The dark haired glared at the man who dared to think such an immoral thing.

With heavy feet and a heavier heart, he leads himself to a waiting room and, avoiding the inquisitive stares of the other families, plants himself in a chair off to the side.

Law takes a deep, shuddering breath, both a weak and foolish attempt to clear his mind.

It doesn't work.

His lover's injury fills his mind, completely and utterly, to the point of overflowing and displaying itself through his tense, wound body language. His hands were clasped tightly, shaking, even, pale at the knuckles with deep half moons implanted on his skin. Law eyes wavered, resolve slowly but surely crumbling, all the while wishing for all of the onlookers around him to leave. They don't leave. Hell, they don't even notice that he's suffering, far, far more than they ever could. It was only that stare.

Then nothing.

There wasn't even a word to describe this type of deep, inflicting pain, that burned his core and left him breathless. There wasn't an adjective that fully encompassed the hole Luffy left him with, nor the bigger hole he left for himself.

The time passing on the ticking clock nearby moved a notch closer to Luffy's release, to his condition being announced to him, to Law's sanity being returned to him. The sound reminded him of a bomb about to go off; everyone evacuating and ducking for cover, as the explosion blossoms into a whirring mass of destruction, whisking them away, knocking them off their feet.

Forever.

Sounded like an accurate representation of his mind.

"Hey."

The taller glances up, menace written clearly across his features. Surprise registers briefly in his gloomy dark eyes at the man who addressed him. It was, yet again, the man from the helicopter. "What the fuck do you want?" Law grits out harshly, biting off each word so sharply that the other flinches.

The man takes off his white, clean hat, releasing long pink hair pulled into a taut, tight bun, and bright, knowing eyes. "My name is Shachi, and I obviously work here," he begins, extending a hand out to Law.

What, was he expected to shake it?

Law ignores the offered limb, and instead narrows his eyes venomously at the pink haired. "Hello, Shachi," he replies dryly, and the air around lowers a few degrees.

Shachi swallows, nodding his head at nothing. "Well," he says, retracting his arm. He sits next to Law, eyes studying the ground as he speaks softly. "I wanted you to know that life gets better. I know you're going through a rough time right now, I understand that, but—"

"Do you?" Law intervenes, facing Shachi squarely. "Do you really understand?"

The man looked uncomfortable, tucking an imaginary strand of hair behind his ear. "I, um—"

"Do you expect me to believe any story and life lesson shit that you spun up? Do you honestly believe that just talking to me will a make me better? Words are worth less than shit in this life. Action is the key. Action makes the world go round, okay? Don't go bullshitting my reality."

Shachi's eyebrows furrow. "I'm only trying to help—"

Law continues, and a mad look comes about in his eyes. "It's like saying 'let's end world hunger' or 'let's obtain world peace' and then what does everyone do? Sit on their lazy asses and not do a damned thing. It's exactly the same. Exactly."

"Mr. Trafalgar, can you please just listen to me?" Shachi asks with fervency, placing an attention-garnering hand on his shoulder. "You're shouting."

"Does it look like a give two fucks?" Law asks, lips tugged upwards against his will. He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind knew that the conversation had escalated a bit too quickly, a bit too much. If people were staring before, there were openly ogling the couple now, many moving to the far end, and some even exiting the room.

But none of them are Luffy, so none of them are relevant.

"You're expecting me to believe you, huh? Damn it," Law whispers, bringing shaking hands up to his face. They're cold. "Everyone does. Hell, even Luffy does, sometimes, it's not. It's not fair to me, not all all. Why does everyone has so many damn expectations? It drives me nuts, it drives me _insane_. If I hear any more of it I'm gonna get sick, I swear—"

A rough hand grabs his forearms, thrusting it behind him and forcing the man flush against the rough surface of the wall. Law didn't even realize he had been standing. He didn't realize that the officers swarming him ordered to stop making such a racket, to tone down, to stop. None of it registered with him. The green haired who grabbed him didn't handcuff him, but instead, led him gently out of the waiting room, away from the petrified people.

Everyone thought he went crazy, and Law has nothing to say to deter the statement.

"You have to go home now, sir," the officer tells him, deep voice rumbling and undefiant. He leans forward slightly, to where he could see only a facet of Law's dark profile. "Since waiting in the hospital is too much for you. Be glad you're not being taken anywhere worse, since Nurse Shachi put in a good word for you."

Law turns towards the green haired officer, who glowers at him through a single eye. "You're not doing me any favors."

"Sir," the man continues, exasperated. They have exited the hospital, and cool air tousle their hair. When the officer releases the man, Law whirls on him, eyes wild, flitting between the path to the front doors and the man's bleak countenance.

The lights of the door filtered through the glass doors, forming a trapezoid of sorts on the ground, illuminating the darkness. "I'm Officer Zoro, and if you're not going to leave peacefully, sir, then I have no choice but to escort you home in my vehicle."

"But Luffy needs me! He needs me there when he wakes up, and if I go home, I won't be here, he's going to be so lonely. Do you understand? Do you, huh? _Zoro_ ," Law spits, making the officer flinch slightly. "You probably expect me to believe everything is going to fine just because he's in that damn hospital?"

"And you expect that if you're there, you'll make a difference?" Zoro yells, a vein making itself more prominent on his head.

Law's blood runs cold. "What?"

The younger breathes slowly, lowering his gaze to the ground. "Sorry, I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have said that."

Dark leaves blow past them, birthed from the intangible darkness of night as the mischievous moonlight smiles down upon the both of them. Wind deafens him for a breathless moment, and lead sinks in the bottom of his stomach. His legs shake slightly, unable to move. He never realized it.

He set expectations for himself, expectations he should've knew were false and unattainable.

Reality not only slapped him, but ran him over with a train.

"...Hey," the man says tentatively, tapping him on the shoulder.

Law doesn't acknowledge him, but instead turns away from him, walking stiffly down the pathway alone. No wonder he thought Luffy would leave him. No wonder. He had just. He expected that he would help him by being there for him no matter what. Law guessed Luffy didn't need him after all. He was useless at the moment, anyway.

"Sir!" Zoro calls out after him, but Law decides not to hear him. He decides not to hear anything, decides not to talk, decides not to think.

Just one foot at a time, until the warmth of their cottage can welcome his coldness again.

...

Law doesn't answer the phone. He doesn't expect good news, so there's no point being weighted down with more bad news, more horrific, life-changing news that stabs his heart, taking no regard for his feelings.

He lays in the bed, staring at the ceiling without feeling, struggling to take breath after breath. He expected too much out of himself unknowingly. He expected too much out of Luffy. He expected too much out of the hospital, out of the doctors, out of the nurses, out of life.

He's at home, and the night is wearing thin, making the cold transition from late to early, where the birds would rest before waking to the thin sunlight filtering through the clouds. The fire was gone, not even embers left in its wake, and the room yearns its illuminating light. Law lays on the bed in screaming silence and piercing coldness, mind billions of millions of miles away, surpassing the stars, clouds, space, and time itself, where it shouldn't be, but where it remains.

A lonely ring sounds through the small cottage, and Law groans in response. It's been about ten minutes and double that amount of rings— can't one be depressed in peace?

He rolls over in bed, reaching for the interrupting sound. Law picks up the phone and, placing the walls high around his heart again, answers. "What?"

"Mr. Trafalgar? It's about Luffy," says the voice on the other side of the phone, and Law sits up in bed with a start. What...what the fuck. It's been all of an hour and there's already information on Luffy? On his lifeline?

Law knew he should've stayed.

"I, um, yes, what about him? Is he okay? Has the surgery gone well at all?" Law blurts all at once, not noticing when he started to pace. His voice shook.

The voice clicks in his head. Nurse Shachi. "I just wanted to tell you that the surgery to repair his shoulder is just underway. And Luffy he's...he's fine. He wanted me to tell you he loves you before the doctors began."

A lump sticks itself in Law's throat. He wanted to be there to hear those words himself. "When can I return?" he asks quietly, and his voice cracks against his will.

There's silence before the man responds, and the black hair's heart beats loudly in his chest, awaiting the answer. "There's no possible way they'll allow you in the room where the surgery is being preformed, nor will they let you back into the waiting room after you pulled that yelling stunt."

Law looks down, a horrid rush of shame flushing his cheeks. "Oh," he says quietly, defeat heavy in his voice. Maybe it was the world pulling the two away from each other. Maybe it was fate.

Maybe it was Luffy closing the doors on him, and Law was sure, yet unsure, it would happen.

Maybe this was all to be expected, but Law didn't look this far into the future, because of Luffy. Everything tied back to Luffy in a way, because the two were connected, deeper than just a simple 'relationship'.

"Oh," he says again, heart breaking, sea swimming in his ears. "Oh," he whispers.

Shachi is quiet. "I'll, um. I'll call again when it looks like you can visit, but for now just. Do your normal, okay? Try not to worry over Luffy so much, he doesn't seem like the type of person to like others worrying over him."

Law tenses. "What do you know about us? How can you say that, and you barely know me? As a matter of fact, how did you get this number? You know _nothing_ —"

"Hospital records have all of your information. Law. I've been a nurse for long enough to know about people, their emotions, and how they act accordingly," the man deadpans on the phone. "I can even tell from the tone of your voice. You're crying, aren't you?"

Law gently touches his cheeks, and comes away with salty wetness. He hadn't even noticed. He sniffles once, twice, then wipes his tears, cursing at nothing and everything.

Shachi sighs, and begins in a softer tone. "Hang in there, okay? Everything will turn out okay, somehow someway. Just have hope."

The phone clicks, and silence comes in waves, crashing onto the still shore, himself. Have hope? He couldn't. He wouldn't. He didn't. It wasn't possible. All of his hopes were tarnished before they began, and the word didn't apply to any part of his life whatsoever.

He pretended the word didn't exist, and therefore Nurse Shachi did not say it.

"I need to...I need to clear my head," Law mutters, frowning as he holds a hand to his heated forehead. He was getting physically sick because of it all, the stress and the pain. It's gotten so far.

Law gets up, wobbling over to his door, and pulls it open weakly. He's barely takes notice of when he's suddenly on his feet, nor does he notice when the front door in front of him is open, and cold, wintry air cools his warm face. It feels relaxing, such a stark contrast of temperature, and it helps. On the surface, anyway. Law slowly blows out warm air, and watches the tendrils of condensation whirl upwards towards the dark sky. Law narrows his similarly colored orbs, licking his lips at the wide expanse above. "Maybe I'll just go to eat, get my mind off of something," Law announces to his lucky stars.

Lucky him.

There are none.

...

"Luffy's been hospitalized? Since when?"

Law's arms are crossed, a protective gesture against such personal questions, and his gaze is steady, focused on the window. "A few hours ago."

Nami grabs her heart between her bountiful breasts, worry shining in her lively brown eyes. "What happened to him? Anything serious?"

Law looks down. It hurts, everything does, and he's not even sure coming to this place was the right idea. But something in him told him to.

"Yeah," Law sighs, bowing his head in what was unquestionably humiliation. "It's pretty bad. I kind of, um, let myself go a bit too far, and I can't visit the hospital now. Oh, not like...that." He immediately comes to his own rescue at Nojiko's sharp intake of breath, alongside her sister's widened eyes. "I just lost it when I heard of Luffy's condition right then and there, I guess."

Nojiko's eyes him warily. "I guess that's understandable. Anyone else would've, also."

"No," Law shakes his head, smiling emptily at the plate of food in front of him. He doesn't feel like eating, as the gratification from the action would be incomparable to when the stupid, energetic teen was at his side.

No, he hadn't lost the will to live, nothing as heroic as that. As a matter of fact, that's rather selfish. He's lost the will to expect anything from anyone, and no, the two were not the same.

"I doubt anyone else would've lost it in such an incorrigible manner," Law whispers, shaking his head. Nami bites her lower lip, glancing sparingly at her sibling.

The diner was closed, lights down and out, the only contrast being the bright fluorescent light from above him, forming a dingy, round circle-like figure on the floor, faulting and bending this way and that, but serving its purpose all the like. The floor was clean, a sparkling, disinfecting smell, similar to the retched hospital. They were clean of all footprints, every memory of people entering the place. Law sat away from all this, in the corner where he and Luffy sat not more than seven hours prior. When everything was okay, when everything was alright.

Law releases warm air through clenched jaws. "I don't know what to do," he admits, folding his hands in front of him on the table. "I, I mean, we've, always been together, Luffy and I. Backtracking, restoring, and building things up, building each other up."

Nami says, "In a relationship, you have to learn how to work together over a distance, no matter how short or far that distance is. True love could make it work."

"That's true," Nojiko's adds, tilting her head to the side in sympathy, "When there a will, there's a way."

"What if there's no will? No will to change ourselves? That means there's no way, right? It's impossible then. That's how me and Luffy are. Impossible," Law mutters, glancing down at his hands, then back up to the darkening window, and soon the sky's no longer hinted with a slight color, but encompassed in a penetrating black.

"We're not going to become the downfalls of ourselves because of your damn expectations," Law spits, standing up abruptly, sending the table before him rocking forwards. "You expect these things out of me and him, don't you, you expect us to do this, be that, and bam, what a wonderful couple society fucking accepts, all because they've passed these conditions to become 'normal'".

Nami reaches out, for his shoulder, a desperate attempt at an apology. "I'm sorry, Law, we didn't mean to–"

"After I trusted you guys with my personal life," he growls, stalking out of the restaurant. "Now you expect things from us, from me, too?"

Nojiko sputters, grasping at straws when finally words hit her, and it's just as Law's palm tells the cool curve of the door knob. "Have hope!"

He freezes.

That defiling word again.

"Thanks," he mutters without turning. He opens the door and steps into the cold, slapping him senseless. But that word didn't exist in his mind. There wasn't a place for it in his memory. Then why would he thank the woman?

The sisters exchange sorrowful glances before their gaze returns to the door, swinging in its frame, Law gone.

No one understood. He knew that. He didn't even have to expect it, he knew. But he expected people to understand anyway, and this was the fruitless result.

Pain.

He trudges down the snowy path, lone footsteps among the spiraling storm around him. Nature sins against him late this night, so early in the mining, as it tries to woo him don, tearing and slapping and biting and kicking. Law couldn't even think coherently. His thoughts would come out in a rumbled nonsense with no rhyme nor reason, most likely involving Luffy, the center of the world.

And also the downfall of it.

He should've expected this.

Everything surrounded and revolved around them, didn't they? Expectations. It makes the world go round and round, what keeps everything in balance. One expects to find love. One expects to live old. One expects to have a family. One expects to live a happy life. Except you don't.

You just die.

And you wonder, you scream, "Why?" Why was I treated this way? What did I do to deserve this? Law smiles to himself, sharp winds scratching at the tears on his face with sharp claws and unrelenting savagery. "You expected in this first place, dumbass," Law whispers as his cottage comes into view through the thick blanket of falling white. The response is carried high into the dark air, past the sky and into the clouds, past the clouds and into space, past space and into time, where its stretched, reformed, tossed, and forgotten.

He enters, closing the door lazily. He feels around the cold walls of the cottage and finds the bedroom with ease. Law falls aslepp easily despite his anxiety, heart pit-pattering in his chest.

...

Law isn't greeted by the bright sunshine and shining birds when he wakes up, but rather, a gloomy sky, ominous clouds, and a cold room, having purposely forgotten to light a fire.

He regrets it.

"Good fucking morning to you too, world," Law breaths heavily, ripping off the blankets and walking towards the fire on cold, sleep-ridden feet. With numb fingers, he fumbles with the match for a good minute before finally getting a fire. His exhausted face lights up briefly before setting the match down towards the burnt, worn wood, hoping it provides him with warmth yet again. Maybe, he could shine again, despite the dullness he has both attracted and created.

The phone rings repeatedly, a lone sound, and Law holds his breath, regarding the device warily. He doesn't want to think of the caller, nor does he want to think of the news the caller might bring. Damn it all, it better not be Shachi, that pain in the ass, always trying to make things better for him.

Law doesn't deserve that.

Why does it not surprise him when he picks up the receiver, and an all too familiar voice echoes through the room. "Hey! Remember me, I'm Shachi, the nurse that helped you yesterday with Luffy?"

"How could I forget such an obnoxious voice in less than twenty four hours?" Law snarls sarcastically, leaning back into the soft mattress of his bed. "What do you want?"

There's an uncomfortable silence on the other end, stretching in endless waves between them.

"I'm glad. Your voice seems... _lighter_ ," Shachi notes thoughtfully, and it's an automatic reaction to snort. He could feel the nurse's smile on the other end, damn it, he could, and a part of his heart burns brightly.

"So," Law begins, coughing slightly, "how's Luffy?"

Shachi takes a deep breath.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Law, you can come to the hospital now. Luffy's...well, he's not..." He struggles to find the right words, trailing off into an incoherent mumble.

Law's heart stops, and his head doesn't seem to want to think, let alone order his body to do anything. He felt numb, dizzy even, and it was pure instinct that forced his mouth to form words.

"I'll be right there," he croaks.

 **HEYY GUYS IM FINALLY DONE WHOOP sorry I took so long, school is really time consuming. And this weekend I binge watched Code Geass and finished R1 &2...so currently dead inside :) see you in the next (and final, oops sorry x) chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Time for the last chapter of this story! I'm really happy you all like it, it was a plot I've been brewing in my mind for a while. Now that the end is near, it's kind of saddening, ya know? Ah, well. Hope you enjoy this final chapter!**

Synopsis: "You always have expectations for me," Law says, "everyone has expectations of somebody." Luffy lowers his eyes, "Law, I don't understand what you're saying." The older gives him a twisted, rueful smile. "Nobody does."

3

– Expectations –

Law is greeted by Shachi at the hospital door, with bright smiles and an even brighter ray of sun, blocking his vision. Everything is so happy, happy, and, who knows, the world could be fucking him over by beaming with such rigid, vivid angles and spurts of friendly yellow. The world could be happy, and it didn't give a damn wether Law was or not.

It depended on Luffy.

"Hey," Law begins, hands shoved deep into pockets. His eyes were slightly glazed over, shuffling between the pink hair's eyes and the shrubbery behind him. "How is he?"

Shachi's face remains a faulty impassive, but his lips struggled to tip upwards. "You should see him. Rather, you can. Now," the words come out awkward and choppy, yet the man makes room for the visitor regardless, and Law walks through, eyeing the nurse with an odd expression.

He looks up towards the desk, and takes a deep breath. "You don't have to sign in, they're, um. Expecting you."

A bitter smile stretches Law's lips.

The nurse rounds the man, pointing to an elevator on their left. "You know the room, no? I'll meet you via stairs later. Go on ahead."

Law shoots him a sideways glance. "Aren't you supposed to accompany me? What if I did something to the hospital's disadvantage?"

"You're too focused on Luffy to bother yourself with something like that," Shachi smirks, a hand placed upon his hip. "He's like your restraint of sorts, both for good and bad."

Law stares at him in wonder. It rang true.

He leaves without further comment; simply a nod and a pivot of the heels, click-clacking away towards the awaiting machinery. The man presses a button at the door's right, stepping back and studying the shining metal without rhyme nor reason. Soon, however, the double doors slide away to opposing, parallel lines, revealing a wide, empty space fashioned with carpet and lively tan walls. The man gazes back, wishing against his will for an assurance of sorts from Shachi. The nurse catches his eye and waves, setting off for the reception desk, and Law smiles besides himself. Wow. He didn't expect that.

He was changing.

As the twin entryway turned into a whole again, Law was finally left alone in a content peace. He's panicking, sure, but on the inside; a calmness settled around him, barely existing yet all the more there, and it slowed the black hair's arrhythmic pulse of the heart to a monotonous stroll.

The way to his destination arrives soon, and the doors bore themselves for him, and the man steps out of the smooth ride with an air of tentative curiosity. Smells of disinfectant and blood assault his nose, and Law coughs slightly before regaining his sense of smell. Nurses on this level were little to none, with only a few typing away on devices in the hall, or hustling into a patient's room, and some even lazily flip through their phone. Law purses his lips at the last sight, but goes on regardless. He eyes the glaring white walls, which stretches forever to his left, right, and front, with sympathy. For himself, for Luffy, for the two of them as a whole.

Sauntering down with a sense of misplaced pride, Law shivers against the looks thrown at him. He couldn't exactly place why—but it had something to do with Luffy, that much made sense, and if anything, Law wanted to punch the expression off their faces.

The Luffy in his mind said no. The bubble of anger slowly let out air.

A glaringly white door faces Law now, towering over him with great structure and meaning. His palms became sweaty, and, despite his fruitful efforts, his heart raced. He was finally going to see his beloved, his one and only, his Luffy. Suddenly, the door seemed farther away, and the air around him turned dark. The ground seemed to shrink and grow below him, and his head expanded and pooped. His vision was a mess of the real and dream world, but it was funny, hilarious, even.

"Um. Sir, are you okay?"

The man turns to his right, and a penguin waves to him, concern dancing about his features. "You alright? Do you need help?"

"I need Luffy," Law replies in a quieted whisper. "But the door won't open."

The animal peers down at the knob, and his eyebrows knit together. "You're shaking," he notes.

The man looks down at his own arm, and which of the three, he doesn't know. But all of them vibrate with intensity. He blinks twice, and his legs wobble. Blinks yet again, and suddenly there's a guiding hand on his back, another on his hands, and they both push.

The door before him gives way easily, and the vivid imagery is gone, replaced by a room slathered in weightless sun, and a bed of untainted snow. A mop of messy, unkempt black hair curls around Luffy's attentive face. His injured shoulder was bandaged and wrapped and gauzed to a messy yet kempt perfection, but he was smiling. Widely at that, and it put the white of the hospital and the white of the sheets and the white of the building to deep shame. It's the same smile Law fell for when he first met Luffy, the same smile he fell for when at the Summit's Peak. It's the same smile Law fell for when Luffy did a day ago.

It's a smile full of memories, of love and sadness, circulating to form a consistency nearly as flawless as yin and yang's lucidity.

"Law!" the teen smiles, tilting his head cutely to the side and splitting his lips into an even wider smiler.

All Law saw was an angel's halo above his head, beaming in tangence with the wide, pure wings behind his back. He was beautiful, and the damage he incurred was irrelevant. Law loved him. Loved him to the point of destroying himself. As he nearly threw himself onto his lover, he disregarded the quiet shut of the door as the Penguin— who actually proved to be a young man who only went by the name— left the couple to be alone. He also came to grips with the fact that if his heart was bursting with joy and relief now, how in the hell did he survive the past twenty four hours without him?

Answer.

He didn't.

He died as soon as he was ushered into the helicopter, and remained in such a state until the moment he was brought back into the hospital. Without Luffy, he was incomplete. He was only half a human, if allowed such an ample amount of humanity, a disgrace.

The man felt the younger's familiar heat, his familiar scent, his familiar curves and edges, his everything, and tears came to his eyes. "Oh God," he whispers, burying his head into the crook of Luffy's neck, nonadjacent to the accident. " _Luffy_."

"I'm here," Luffy sighs into Law's hair, holding onto him tightly, with half his strength. His voice wavers. "I've missed you so much."

"You have no clue," Law murmurs, sniffling, and the younger pulls away with great reluctance, taking in a glimpse of his boyfriend's face.

He was crying.

Red rimmed his dark eyes, framed with watery sadness. Overflowing, it created parallel streaks of melancholy upon his face, and his brows drew low to his lids. His mouth, hunched up in an upside down crescent, tightened each time he took a shaken breath, and slacked as he let it out with a huffy sigh.

"I love you," Law murmurs into his shoulder. He lowers his head, so it rests on Luffy's chest. "I'm so sorry. God, if anything had happened to you, if you had..."

Luffy's heart tightens at the words he longed to hear. "Hey, hey Law. Look at me."

Nothing but brazen love meets Law's eyes, honest and true. "I'm going to be okay."

Law's chest clenches at the promise without evidence, a promise without pinpoint accuracy, a promise without assurance. Luffy didn't know that. He was expecting things to turn out well, of course. It was all coincidence that the world decided to shed even a minuscule ray of mercy on them. Law was happy, no doubt, but that Luffy expected just like he did...

It could've ended badly just as easily.

"We hoped for the best, and therefore got what we wanted," Luffy says, smiling gently.

Hope?

That awful word that never in Law's life came to him? The word that shattered all his wishes, dreams, aspirations, family, friends, and more? He hated that word, he detested it with such ferocity that hearing his beloved speak such a disdainful unit of speech made the man want to hurl.

He smiles through the acute pain his in left bosom. "Hope?"

Law sits back on the chair near the younger's bed, and peers at Luffy's injured side with intensity, wishing for the subject to change, he would rather not talk about such a word, nor would he desire anything of it.

Luffy follows his line of sight and sighs quietly. Touching the bandages, he begins, "Yeah. You know, hope. Like, hoping I'd get better." His round, black irises pierce into Law's. "Did you think of your expectations and shit again? Because Law, I've warned you about it before. Hope. Don't expect."

The older is quiet for a minute, then changes the subject. "How are you able to worry and fuss over me when your life was in danger not too long ago?" Law wonders, amazed at his lover's large heart.

Luffy narrows his eyes at the man. "I love you," he says.

"And I, you," Law whispers.

"Then realize," Luffy says, bringing a soft palm to the rough stubble in Law's cheek. "That hoping for something is much, much better than expecting. Life's full of expectations, I'll give you that."

Law nods numbly, wiping dried salt off his opposing cheek.

"But." Luffy takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and choosing his words carefully. "There's more hope. So much more hope. You just need to believe."

"I had no hope before I met you," Law protests, gripping Luffy's hands and squeezing involuntarily. "And I didn't know what to expect. But the world had expectations of me, expectations I couldn't meet, nor would I ever have met if not for you, and—"

Luffy's mouth tilts upwards, and Law stops talking. "What?" Law asks with a puff of annoyance.

"Your face," Luffy murmurs softly, eyes warming, "it's not nearly as closed as before."

Law reaches up, placing a shaking hand over Luffy's, confused. "What?"

"I can tell what you're thinking now, I guess," Luffy explains. A small giggle escapes the younger, and Law's heart skips a beat. "See, like. Now? Your brain's all jumbled up because you don't know wether or not you were secretly expecting something else, perhaps a worse result, or glad your hopes turns out to be fulfilled."

Law's eyes dim. "I told you, I can't hope—"

"You can," Luffy interrupts sharply, looking deeply into Law's eyes. "you _can_."

He's always been the stubborn type.

The older sits back, releasing Luffy's hand, and relishing the coolness of the air bristling about his cheek. "What would you do without me?" Luffy sighs, leaning back into his throne of pillows. "I guess I'm stuck with you."

Law blinks. "Come again?"

"Thinking back, I think you were scared I was going to abandon you. Like um, was Doflamingo his name? Like he did. That's how you fell in this whole mentality in the first place, right?"

Law nods, eyes studying the floor with earnest. "Don't limit yourself because of me. You have no obligation to help me, I won't expect—"

The teen motions for him to lean forward, and Law complies. Luffy lips glaze over Laws for only a short while, a soft, gentle, soothing peck that packed just as much emotion as a kiss. "You seem to forget I love you," Luffy says, "and I hope the best for you and anything you do. We're in this together, and that's no expectation. It's a hope, one already fulfilled."

The light in the older's eyes grew wider.

Hope.

That legendary word seemed to be thrown around so much today that his head span. Yet somewhere deep within him, a tiny little part of him began to let the word click. "You love me."

"Yes!" Luffy cries, pouting out of exasperation, "I've told you! I've been telling you! Hell, Law, I _know_ you know it."

All the words from the conversations he had previously finally made sense.

He had expected it, but it wasn't just an expectation; it was hope, a hope fulfilled, and one never to be let down.

Hope can't be let down, as the possibility of one or another is there, but expectations assume a definite option. If failed, then it's over. It's done.

Which of the two is more devastating in the long run?

The truth finally made it to Law's eyes, and he blinked widely before looking around the room. It was bright, abundant in light, so much more than before; the source seemed to come from none other than Luffy. His angel, his lover, his pride and joy, his boyfriend, his significant other, he one, his only, his true, his everything and anything.

Law nearly jumps on the bed, and Luffy makes a strangled noise, one of both surprise and pain. Careful to avoid the white wrapped area, Law cradles the tan face within his hands and, zeroing his eyes on those pouting lips that awaited him, attacked.

Luffy groans in response to Law's furious kiss, tongue delving into the warm cavern with earnest want. The teen melts under his longing touch, with such gentle familiarity that he almost begins shedding his gown right there in the hospital. He began to move, but his injury prevented him, tearing out a strangled whine from the younger.

Law stops, and backs away, licking his lips. Eyes, once gazed over with ravenous desire, ease back into the dark, gloomy state they had been before. But lighter. "Sorry," he apologizes, red tinting his cheeks.

Luffy shakes his head, mouth stretched into a crescent. "Damn," he huffs, sucking on his bottom lip, and Law burns a deeper shade of red.

"By the way," Luffy says, a sly curve playing in his lips, "I asked for Shachi to act all mysterious about my condition, just to see if you would expect."

Law coughs, stuttering on his words. "Y- You sadistic little—"

A knock sounds at the door, interrupting the two, and Law permits the entry verbally. "Excuse me," the man announces, leaning inside with room sheepishly. "I'm, uh, sorry to bother you two."

Luffy waves off the comment with a chuckle, but Law continues to glare with faltering intensity.

The man continues, "I'm Nurse Penguin. Mr. Trafalgar, Luffy has been left in both my care and Nurse Shachi's, too, and according to the doctor and surgeon who preformed on him, he is, no, rather, will be, ready to go soon."

"That's a relief," Law says with an actual smile, turning towards Luffy with regained confidence and happiness. This is the power the teen held over him. In response to the rarity of a smile, especially considering what Law had been going through, it was Luffy's turn to turn pink.

The nurse fidgeted uncomfortably, but cleared his throat and continued. He walked over to the foot of Luffy's bed and, with a grunt, bends to pick up the clipboard residing there. "His surgery went without fault. The fracture was rather large, but made cleanly; therefore, resetting the bone and fixing him up was little to no challenge..." Nurse Penguin trailed off, realizing his monotone words were falling on deaf, inattentive ears. The couple had made their own little world, one that he could get into. They spoke of various situations and sudden instances, of life and death and morality, of expectations and hopes, and the spherical divide between their universe and his was too great a leap.

Yet again, he backed away, beginning to close the door when a voice reached out to him from the couple's small dome. "When can Luffy be released?" asked the dark haired older, eyes lively and sparkling, a stark contrast to the darkness that once gripped the dead irises.

"Uhm," the man mutters, shifting his line of sight to the clipboard in his hands. "In about thirty minutes? The surgery was remarkably fast, and the surgeon said it was like a miracle." Penguin finishes nodding at Law.

"Oh, and finish up paperwork and such at the front desk before you leave!" Penguin chirps, shutting the door. He gets a mild, off hand grunt in reply.

Behind the door the nurse sighs, smiling warily at his co-worker. "You're right. He is a weird one."

"The both of them are, that's for sure," Shachi puffs, shaking his head with a smile on his face. "Especially that Law guy. He's just insane. Loyal, and fiercely so, to the point of insanity I don't know why they were worried about him." The orange haired gestures with his eyes for his associate to follow him into the waiting room laying adjacent to the patient's, where a couple of young ladies wait anxiously.

"Is Law okay?" the seemingly older of the two asks, standing upon the men's entrance into the small room. They were alone, yet beside themselves with worry, seeing as they came in many hours before Law arrived. Unable to contact him, let alone visit him early in the morning, the two were forced to arrive at the hospital, the scene in question, in order to see the brooding man. Yet, much to both of their surprise, the man couldn't come to the building unless summoned— by the time he was, Luffy's request was with him only, and the two were put out of the picture without much thought.

Shachi crosses his arms, taking a seat across from the woman, who clutched her red banana with a grip of worry. Her sister held her blossoming bosom with a sense of fear and unease, eyes wide and darting between her sister, Penguin, Shachi, and the door, which lead outside the hall to where the couple still held their reunion.

"I guarantee you," Shachi begins with a huff, quirking his lips upwards, "that man is fine. You make sure to give him a rough talking to when this whole incident is over, for worrying you two so, and treating you so rudely." Penguin nods gravely beside him. Nami giggles, placing her delicate chin within her palm, elbow resting on the table separating them. "He was going through a rough time, we understand. Plus, it was late at night, and the stress must've been killing him. All is well on our end; we're here for him."

"Yeah, but still. Worry about yourselves for once," Penguin protests, and Nojiko smiles wide. "Alright. Just for you," she relents, and the man lets out a relieved sigh.

A moment of silence passes in content peace.

"Well," the nurse begins, awkwardly rubbing his neck, "they'll be released soon. Make sure to feed them properly when they come back to your restaurant."

Nojiko narrows her eyes wisely, smiling softly. "Law and Luffy will always be welcome whenever, whatever will help ease the pain."

The nurses stand, extending a hand towards the women, and they take it gratefully, happy that their customer is happy, his pain lifted, at least somewhat, and he had reunited with his beloved.

The women thank the men in smiles, leaving with a swing of the hips, and closes the door behind them quietly. "Well," Penguin begins, glancing down at a watch clasped about his wrist, "it should be about time that Luffy gets released. Want to go to the front desk to see the lovebirds leave?"

His fellow co-worker grunts a reply, walking out ahead of him. The man follows with a gleam of happiness sparkling in his eye.

Laws pushing Luffy in a wheelchair, but the stupid teen proclaimed pridefully he could walk on his own. Law wouldn't have it. Hell if the teen so much as breathed by himself; Law was going to ensure his care, and be sure to give Luffy his utmost attention until Law deemed him completely and utterly healthy.

But until then.

"Damn it, Law, I sometimes hate that protectiveness about you," Luffy says, sighing as the front door comes into view.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight," Law responses with a smile, filing out the appropriate paperwork.

The teen below him sighs and Law lets out a breathy half-laugh of sorts; soon the men from before appear, donned in their uniforms, waving and grinning big.

"Hey," greets Shachi with a chuckle, eyeing the pouting Luffy with amusement. "It seems things here are much livelier than before." Penguin nods solemnly from behind him, an actions he exhibits almost religiously.

Law nods. "He seems fine, and if he's okay, I am too."

Luffy burns a light pink, and Penguin swoons. "How adorable!" he croons, and Luffy Ducks his head to hide his smile.

"Thank you for everything. Nurse Shachi. Nurse Penguin," Law says with appreciation, bowing slightly at the shocked couple.

The pink haired shakes his head, hands out, "Ah, no."

Law throws him another thankful look, full of apologies and promises of a return, to make amends, and to make up for the pitiful behavior he exhibited earlier. The nurse nods his acknowledgment, his acceptance of the offer, and waves the couple off, hoping they have a good day.

Law smiles, and their conversation was over.

He would hope.

—

"I think I know what you see in me."

"Eh?"

Luffy looks up at him, mouth slightly tugged upwards. "What're you talking about? Of course I see plenty of things in you."

Law grins and looks at him, thumb absentmindedly stroking Luffy's warm, injured upper arm carefully. The two sat side by side facing the melting snow outside. The sun tossed carefree rays of light upon the ground, evenly evaporating the cold, white substance. The fireplace before them stood empty and dead, unneeded in the climbing temperatures. The small, wooden cottage they shared was light, and it was because of Luffy and Law and the sun and the world.

Luffy shifts in Law's arms slowly, so he lays on his stomach next to him, and leans over his face. Law's eyes looked at him with concern. "I'm alright," he says softly, sensing his lover's worry. But Law shakes his head, and shifts his gaze to the new bandages on Luffy's worn shoulder.

"Really," Luffy protest, laughing quietly. Law grunts, still not convinced. He mirrors his words from the night before it all, making sure to look deep within Luffy's eyes.

"You always have hopes for me," Law begins, "everyone has hopes for somebody." Luffy widens his eyes, "Law, you _finally_ understand what I'm saying." The older gives him a beautiful, wide smile. "Yeah. I'm glad."

The younger giggles then, only letting Law off with a light kiss, much to his disappointment. He sits up, stretching as best he could, and lazily cracks an eye open towards a flyer sitting upon the dresser beside the bed. Law follows his line of sight, until it reaches the colorful paper.

Luffy picks it up, scrutinizing it, and then begins to read, a light bounce to his voice. "'Come one come all to the Peak Height Festival. People of all ages welcome for food, drinks, games, and fun. Stalls open today from—'"

Laws voice is as hard as steel when he grits out a, "No." Luffy turns towards him, not an once of defiance in his eyes. Instead there shines a light, a bright, luminous, brave light, which desired an audience and a voice. "I know for sure nothing will happen. Absolutely."

Law fidgets. "How so?"

"Because," the younger huffs, shoving the paper in front of Law and pointing to the title. "'Peak Heights'. It's going to be our height, our peak, and it'll be wonderful. It's just. A _feeling_ , ya know?"

"No," Law deadpans, but his lips curve towards the sky, regardless.

Luffy laughs, a big, booming one from his chest. "Well, we can do nothing but hope, right?"

There goes that word again, the single syllable that changed his life, that had his looking up instead of down. That had him looking ahead instead of looking back. That had his head set in Heaven instead of Hell. That had him better as a person in general, and, yeah, it took time. It took himself, Luffy, Nojiko, Nami, Shachi, Penguin, it took them all. But one by one, they grew on him, forcing him to realize that everything shouldn't be expected.

Leave things to hope for.

And so he did, so he would.

"Yeah," Law replies. "Hope."

The darkness in his eyes are gone.

 **Done with this chapter! And story! *tears* I personally liked this story, since so many of my rl problems are thrown into it...I hope you liked it! Don't forget to HMU with all the goods! Thank you for reading, have an AMAZING Thanksgiving, and stay awesome.**

 **(P.S. Did anyone catch that the whole time I referred to Law's eyes as 'dark'? I meant for it to symbolize the expectations blinded him to the hopes in life. Um. A bit deeper than I initially thought, but oH WELL HA)**


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